Source image providing multiple item views

ABSTRACT

According to example embodiments, an Image View Aggregator identifies a frontal view of an item within an image. The Image View Aggregator identifies at least one reflection view of the item within the image. Each reflection view of the item having been captured off a corresponding reflective physical surface. The image View Aggregator extracts the frontal view of the item and each reflection view of the item from the image. The Image View Aggregator generates a representation of the item based at least on the extracted frontal view of the item and each extracted reflection view of the item.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/973,936, filed. Dec. 18, 2015, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the technical field ofgenerating one or more images.

BACKGROUND

Typical electronic commerce (“e-commerce) sites provide users (e.g.,sellers) with computer-implemented services for selling goods orservices through, for example, a website. For example, a seller maysubmit information regarding a good or service to the e-commerce sitethrough a web-based interface. Upon receiving the information regardingthe good or service, the e-commerce site may store the information as alisting that offers the good or service for sale. Other users (e.g.,buyers) may interface with the e-commerce site through a searchinterface to find goods or services to purchase. For example, sometypical e-commerce sites may allow the user to submit a search querythat includes, for example, search terms that may be matched by thee-commerce site against the listings created by the sellers. In anotherexample, some typical e-commerce sites may allow the user to post alisting of an item for sale along with an image of the item so thatpotential buyers can see a current condition of the item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a publication system, according toone embodiment, having a client-server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of an Image ViewAggregator, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an image having multiplereflection views received by the Image View Aggregator, according tosome example embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the Image View Aggregatorcorrecting distortion in extracted reflection views, according to someexample embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the Image View Aggregatorgenerating a rotatable image of an item based on the views extractedfrom the image, according to some example embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of method operationsinvolved in generating a representation of an item based at least on theviews of the item extracted from a received image, according to someexample embodiments;

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions may beexecuted causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and systems directed to an Image View Aggregator aredescribed. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example embodiments. It will be evident, however, toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details.

According to example embodiments, an Image View Aggregator receives animage and identifies a frontal view of an item within the image. TheImage View Aggregator identifies at least one reflection view of theitem within the image. Each reflection view of the item having beencaptured off a corresponding reflective physical surface. The Image ViewAggregator extracts the frontal view of the item and each reflectionview of the item from the image. The image View Aggregator generates arepresentation of the item based at least on the extracted frontal viewof the item and each extracted reflection view of the item.

Characteristics of each physical reflective surface are embedded in theimage. For example, a first reflection view of the item in the imagecorresponds with first physical characteristics of a first reflectivesurface. A second reflection view of the item in the image correspondswith second physical characteristics of a second reflective surface TheImage View Aggregator extracts the first and the second physical fromthe image. Such physical characteristics include at least one of acurvature of a physical reflective surface, a distance between the itemand a physical reflective surface and an angle of a physical reflectivesurface with respect to the item.

The characteristics of the first physical reflective surface causesdistortion of the item's appearance in the first reflection view in theimage. By applying image correction techniques to account for thecharacteristics, the Image View Aggregator reverses the distortionpresent in the first reflection view of the item. Upon reversing thedistortion, the Image View Aggregator generates a corrected firstreflection view. The Image View Aggregator thereby obtains different andaccurate views of the item based on receipt of a just a single image ofthe item.

In an example embodiment, the image of the item was captured while theitem was physically placed in proximity to one or more reflectivesurface. For example, an end-user places a physical item in a physicalkit that has a predefined placement position for the physical itemitself. The physical kit further includes one or more mirrors. Forexample, the physical kit includes a first mirror to provide areflection of one side of the item, a second mirror to provide areflection of another side of the item. The physical kit can furtherinclude a third mirror to provide a reflection of a back portion of theitem. Each mirror in the physical kit has various pre-definedcharacteristics, such as, for example: an amount of concavity, adistance from the predefined placement position and an angle at whichthe mirror is oriented with respect to the predefined placement positionof the item.

The end-user uses a computing device (for example: a mobile device, adigital camera) to capture an image of the physical item as it issituated in the physical kit partially surrounded by the physical kit'smirrors. When the end-user captures the image of a physical item placedwithin a physical kit with a computing device, the computing devicerecognizes an identifier (such as a serial number) applied to anon-reflective surface of the physical kit. For example, the computingdevice scans the identifier from the non-reflective surface prior tocapturing the image or utilizes optical character recognition todetermine presence of the identifier in the captured image.

Based on the identifier, the computing device accesses a server (or acloud computing environment) to download various characteristics of eachmirror in the physical kit. The computing device embeds the variouscharacteristics of each mirror as metadata in an image header of theimage of the item. The metadata further includes an identification ofwhich characteristics of a particular mirror correspond to a reflectioncaptured in the image. That is, a first metadata indicates that itcorresponds to a reflection of the item in a particular sector of theimage while second metadata indicates that it corresponds to anotherreflection of the item in a different sector of the image. In anotherexample embodiment, the computing device has the characteristics of eachmirror in the physical kit pre-loaded prior to capturing the image ofthe item in the physical item. In another example, the physical kit hasa transmitter that transmits the characteristics of each mirror to thecomputing device.

The captured image is thereby a single source image that includes afrontal view of the item at the predefined placement position along withall the respective reflections from the physical kit's mirrors. Uponreceipt of the single source image, the image View Aggregator appliesedge detection to identify the frontal view of the item and eachreflection view of the item in the image. The image View Aggregatorextracts the frontal view of the item and each reflection view of theitem from the image. The Image View Aggregator utilizes the physicalcharacteristics of the mirrors present as metadata in the image headerin order to reverse any distortion in the image caused as a reflectiveresult of the physical characteristics.

It is understood that example embodiments include the generation of amodule(s) to cause a computing device(s) to perform any and/or all ofthe actions described herein. Once the module(s) is generated, themodule(s) is sent for installation on the computing device(s). In oneembodiment, the generated modules comprise source code that, whencompiled by a computing device(s), creates object code that causes thecomputing device(s) to perform any or all of the various actions, steps,methods, and/or operations described herein. In other embodiments, thegenerated modules comprise object code that causes the computingdevice(s) to perform various actions, steps, methods, and/or operationsdescribed herein.

Platform Architecture

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a translation system, according toone embodiment, having a client-server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network. The publication system 100 may be atransaction system where clients, through client machines 120, 122 and athird party server 140, may communicate, view, search, and exchange datawith network based publisher 112. For example, the publication system100 may include various applications for interfacing with clientmachines and client applications that may be used by users (e.g., buyersand sellers) of the system to publish items for sale in addition tofacilitating the purchase and shipment of items and searching for items.

The network based publisher 112 may provide server-side functionality,via a network 114 (e.g., the Internet) to one or more clients. The oneor more clients may include users that utilize the network basedpublisher 112 as a transaction intermediary to facilitate the exchangeof data over the network 114 corresponding to user transactions. Usertransactions may include receiving and processing item and item relateddata and user data from a multitude of users, such as payment data,shipping data, item review data, feedback data, etc. A transactionintermediary such as the network-based publisher 112 may include one orall of the functions associated with a shipping service broker, paymentservice and other functions associated with transactions between one ormore parties. For simplicity, these functions are discussed as being anintegral part of the network based publisher 112, however it is to beappreciated that these functions may be provided by publication systemsremotely and/or decoupled from the network based publisher 112.

In example embodiments, the data exchanges within the publication system100 may be dependent upon user selected functions available through oneor more client/user interfaces (UIs). The UIs may be associated with aclient machine, such as the client machine 120, utilizing a web client116. The web client 116 may be in communication with the network basedpublisher 112 via a web server 126. The UIs may also be associated witha client machine 122 utilizing a client application 118, or a thirdparty server 140 hosting a third party application 138. It can beappreciated in example embodiments the client machine 120, 122 may beassociated with a buyer, a seller, payment service provider or shippingservice provider, each in communication with the network based publisher112 and optionally each other. The buyers and sellers may be any one ofindividuals, merchants, etc.

An application program interface (API) server 124 and a web server 126provide programmatic and web interfaces to one or more applicationservers 128. The application servers 128 may host one or more otherapplications, such as transaction applications 130, publicationapplications 132, and an Image View Aggregator application 134. Theapplication servers 128 may be coupled to one or more data servers thatfacilitate access to one or more storage devices, such as the datastorage 136.

The transaction applications 130 may provide a number of paymentprocessing modules to facilitate processing payment informationassociated with a buyer purchasing an item from a seller. Thepublication applications 132 may include various modules to provide anumber of publication functions and services to users that access thenetwork based publisher 112. For example, these services may include,inter alia, formatting and delivering search results to a client. TheImage View Aggregator application 134, may include various modules toextract various views of an item within a single image and to correctdistortion present in the extracted views to create multiple sub-imagesof the item, in some embodiments, the Image View Aggregator application134 automatically creates a listing of the item with the multiplesub-images—even though only a single image was received.

FIG. 1 also illustrates an example embodiment of a third partyapplication 138, which may operate on a third party server 140 and haveprogrammatic access to the network based publisher 112 via theprogrammatic interface provided by the API server 124. For example, thethird party application 138 may utilize various types of datacommunicated with the network based publisher 112 and support one ormore features or functions normally performed at the network basedpublisher 112. For example, the third party application 138 may receivea copy of all or a portion of the data storage 136 that includes buyershipping data and act as the transaction intermediary between the buyerand seller with respect to functions such as shipping and paymentfunctions. Additionally, in another example embodiment, similar to thenetwork-based publisher 112, the third party application 138 may alsoinclude modules to perform operations pertaining to payment, shipping,etc. In yet another example embodiment, the third party server 140 maycollaborate with the network based publisher 112 to facilitatetransactions between buyers and sellers, such as by sharing data andfunctionality pertaining to payment and shipping, etc.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of an Image ViewAggregator 134, according to some example embodiments. The componentscommunicate with each other to perform the operations of the Image ViewAggregator 134. The Image View Aggregator application 134 is shown asincluding an input-output module 210, a view extraction module 220, adistortion correction module 230 and an image aggregation module 240,all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, sharedmemory, or a switch).

Any one or more of the modules described herein may be implemented usinghardware (e.g., one or more processors of a machine) or a combination ofhardware and software. For example, any module described herein mayconfigure a processor among one or more processors of a machine) toperform the operations described herein for that module. Moreover, anytwo or more of these modules may be combined into a single module, andthe functions described herein for a single module may be subdividedamong multiple modules. Furthermore, according to various exampleembodiments, modules described herein as being implemented within asingle machine, database, or device may be distributed across multiplemachines, databases, or devices.

The input-output module 210 is a hardware-implemented module whichmanages, controls, stores, and accesses information regarding inputs andoutputs. An input can be an image of an item, which includes a frontalview of the item and one or more reflection views of the item. An outputcan be a rotatable image based on an aggregation of the frontal view andthe one or more reflection views. Such a rotatable image is composed onthe extracted frontal view and the one or more reflection views. Theoutput can also be multiple images, wherein a first image is based onthe frontal view of the item and a second image is based on adistortion-corrected reflection view of the item.

The view extraction module 220 is a hardware-implemented module whichmanages, controls, stores, and accesses information regarding extractingfrom the image a frontal view of the item and the one or more reflectionviews of the item. The view extraction module 220 applies edge detectiontechniques to the image in order to identify the frontal view and eachreflection view.

The distortion correction module 230 is a hardware-implemented modulewhich manages, controls, stores, and accesses information regardingcorrecting distortions in each reflection view caused by characteristicsof a physical reflective surface. The distortion correction module 230retrieves characteristics of a physical reflective surface that causeddistortion of an appearance of the item in a corresponding reflectionview. The distortion correction module 230 applies image correctiontechniques to the corresponding reflection view to reverse thedistortion caused by the characteristics of a physical reflectivesurface.

The image aggregation module 240 is a hardware-implemented module whichmanages, controls, stores, and accesses information regarding generatinga representation of an item based at least on an extracted frontal viewof the item and one or more reflection views of the item.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an image having multiplereflection views received by the Image View Aggregator 134, according tosome example embodiments.

The Image View Aggregator 134 receives an image 300 having an imageheader 304. The image 300 includes a frontal view 300-1 of an item, afirst reflection view 300-2 of the item and a second reflection view300-3 of the item. When the image was captured, the item was physicallyproximate to a first and second physical reflective surface. The firstand second reflection views 300-2, 300-3 are therefore reflectionscaptured off of each physical reflective surface.

The image header 304 includes tnetadata 304-1, 304-2 indicatingcharacteristics of each physical reflective surface. Metadata 304-1includes characteristics of a first physical reflective surface thatcorresponds to the first reflection view 300-2. Metadata 304-1 indicatesthe physical distance between the item and first physical reflectivesurface, any curvature of the first physical reflective surface and anangle (or orientation) of the first physical reflective surface withrespect to the item. Metadata 304-1 further includes an indication as towhich sector of the image it applies. That is, metadata 304-1 includesan identification that it applies to the first reflection view 300-2.that appears mostly in the left side (or leftmost third portion) of theimage 300. Metadata 304-2 includes characteristics of a second physicalreflective surface that corresponds to second reflection view 300-3.Metadata 304-2 indicates the physical distance between the item andsecond physical reflective surface, any curvature of the second physicalreflective surface and an angle (or orientation) of the second physicalreflective surface with respect to the item. Metadata 304-2 furtherincludes an indication as to which sector of the image it applies. Thatis, metadata 304-2 includes an identification that it applies to thesecond reflection view 300-3 that appears mostly in the right side (orrightmost third portion) of the image 300.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the Image View Aggregator 134correcting distortion in extracted reflection views, according to someexample embodiments.

The Image View Aggregator 134 extracts the frontal view 300-1, the firstreflection view 300-2 and the second reflection view 300-3 by utilizingedge detection techniques that identify a representation of the item inthe image versus a background and foreground of the image. In oneexample embodiment, the Image View Aggregator 134 applies one or moreedge detection techniques to identify a difference between pixels in theimage's 300 background and the pixels in the frontal view 300-1, thefirst reflection view 300-2 and the second reflection view 300-3. Thatis, the Image View Aggregator 134 identifies that the background of theimage consistently includes pixels having a certain color value range,whereas the portions of the image 300 that include the frontal view300-1, the first reflection view 300-2 and the second reflection view300-3 have pixels with color value ranges that differ significantly fromthe background's pixel color value range. By identifying when the pixelcolor values change abruptly, the Image View Aggregator 134distinguishes the edges of the frontal view 300-1, the first reflectionview 300-2 and the second reflection view 300-3 versus the background ofthe image 300.

In another example of edge detection, the Image View Aggregator 134extracts the metadata 304-1, 304-2 embedded in the image header 304 andthe metadata 304-1, 304-2 indicates which portions of the image 300itself includes the frontal view 300-1, the first reflection view 300-2and the second reflection view 300-3. The Image View Aggregator 134 thenapplies the pixel color range value comparisons discussed above tofurther distinguish the boundaries of the frontal view 300-1, the firstreflection view 300-2 and the second reflection view 300-2. Based onidentifying the boundaries of each respective view 300-1, 300-2, 300-2,the Image View Aggregator crops the views 300-1, 300-2, 300-3 from theimage 300, or copies the pixels from the views 300-1, 300-2., 300-3, inorder to extract the views from the image 300.

The metadata 304-1, 304-2 further includes the pre-definedcharacteristics of the various reflective surfaces. For example, thecharacteristics of the first physical reflective surface causeddistortion of the item's appearance in the first reflection view 300-2in the image 300. The characteristics of the second physical reflectivesurface caused distortion of the item's appearance in the secondreflection view 300-3 in the image 300.

The distortion correction module 230 of the Image View Aggregator 134applies image correction techniques to the first and second reflectionview 300-2, 300-3 to reverse the distortions caused by the respectivecharacteristics of the first and second physical reflective surfaces.For example, the distortion correction module 230 receives the extractedreflection view 300-2 and the metadata. 304-1 that includes an angle ofthe reflective surface that corresponds to reflection view 300-2 and adistance between the physical item and that reflective surface. Usingthe angle and the distance, the distortion correction module 230calculates the angle of incidence of the reflective surface with respectto the physical item when the image 300 was captured. The distortioncorrection module 230 reverses the reflective result of the angle ofincidence in the reflection view 300-2 so as to create a corrected firstreflection view 404.

The distortion correction module 230 further receives the extractedreflection view 300-3 and the metadata 304-2 that includes an amount ofa concavity of the reflective surface that corresponds to reflectionview 300-3 and a distance between the physical item and that reflectivesurface. Using the amount of concavity and the distance, the distortioncorrection module 230 identifies curved portions of the reflection view300-3 that can be straightened so as to create a corrected secondreflection view 406.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the Image View Aggregator 134generating a rotatable image of an item based on the views extractedfrom the image, according to some example embodiments.

The image aggregation module 240 of the Image View Aggregator 134receives the extracted frontal view 300-1, the corrected firstreflection view 404 and the corrected second reflection view 406. Theimage aggregation module 240 of the Image View Aggregator 134 combinesthe views 300-1, 404, 406 to generate a rotatable image 504 of the itemthat provides an end-user with different, selectable vantage points ofportions of the item. Each selectable vantage point of the rotatableimage 504 is based in part on at least one of the extracted frontal view300-1, the corrected first reflection view 404 and the corrected secondreflection view 406.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of method 600operations involved in generating a representation of an item based atleast on the views of the item extracted from a received image,according to some example embodiments.

The Image View Aggregator 134 receives a request from a client deviceassociated with a member account in the publisher system 112. Therequest includes a serial number identifying a particular physical kitin which a physical item can be placed such that it is partiallysurrounded by reflective surfaces (such as mirrors). The Image ViewAggregator 134 accesses a database that has a listing of physical kitsstored according to their respective serial numbers in relation to dataof reflective surface characteristics. The Image View Aggregator 134locates the received serial number in the listing of physical kits. TheImage View Aggregator 134 accesses the data of reflective surfacecharacteristics stored in relation to the received serial number andsends the accessed data back to the requesting client device. The clientdevice will thereby use the accessed data to generate metadata to beinserted into a header of an image of an item.

The Image View Aggregator 134 receives an image from the client deviceassociated with the member account. At operation 604, the Image ViewAggregator 134 identifies a frontal view of an item within the image.For example, a member account in the publisher system 112 creates alisting for display on the publisher system 112. The listing describesthe item. The publisher system 112 receives a single source image fromthe member account. The Image View Aggregator 134 applies edge detectiontechniques to identify the frontal view of the item.

At operation 606, the Image View Aggregator 134 identities at least onereflection view of the item within the image. It is understood that theat least one reflection view of the item captured off a correspondingreflective physical surface. The Image View Aggregator 134 furtherapplies edge detection techniques to identify one or more reflectionviews of the item in the image received from the member account.

At operation 608, the Image View Aggregator 134 extracts the frontalview of the item and the at least one reflection view of the item fromthe image. For example, the Image View Aggregator 134 clips the frontalview and the reflection view(s) out of the image such that the clippedfrontal view and the clipped reflection views(s) are themselves distinctimages.

Image View Aggregator 134 extracts, from the image header,characteristics of a physical reflective surface that corresponds witheach extracted reflection view. Such characteristics include at leastone of a curvature of the physical reflective surface, a distancebetween the item and the physical reflective surface and an angle of thephysical reflective surface with respect to the item. Thecharacteristics caused a reflective result present in the correspondingextracted reflection view. The reflective result distorts an actualappearance of the item in the extracted reflection view. In anotherexample embodiment, the received single source image includes an imageheader that provides only an identifier. The identifier corresponds to aphysical kit having one or more mirrors. The Image View Aggregator 134extracts the identifier embedded in the image header. The Image ViewAggregator 134 accesses the listing of physical kits to locatepre-defined characteristics of the one or more mirrors of the physicalkit associated with the extracted identifier.

The Image View Aggregator applies image correction to the extractedreflection views to reverse the reflective result caused by thecharacteristics (i.e. distance, curvature, angle) of the correspondingphysical reflective surface. The image correction generates a correctedreflection views which include the same content as the correspondingextracted reflection view minus distortion.

At operation 610, the Image View Aggregator 134 generates arepresentation of the item based at least on the extracted frontal viewof the item and the at least one extracted reflection view of the item.The Image View Aggregator 134 includes the extracted frontal view of theitem and each corrected reflection view of the item in the listingcreated by the member account. The Image View Aggregator 134 therebycreates a listing for an item in the publisher system 112 that providesmultiple, different views of the item based on receipt of a single imageof the item.

Exemplary Computer Systems

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exampleform of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions may beexecuted causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. In alternative example embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 700 includes a processor 702 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate witheach other via a bus 508. The computer system 700 may further include avideo display unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or acathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 700 also includes analphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a user interface (UI)navigation device 714 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signalgeneration device 718 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device720.

The disk drive unit 716 includes a machine-readable medium 722 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,software 724) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The software 724 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 704and/or within the processor 702. during execution thereof by thecomputer system 700, the main memory 704 and the processor 702 alsoconstituting machine-readable media.

The software 724 may further be transmitted or received over a network726 via the network interface device 720 utilizing any one of a numberof well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP).

While the machine-readable medium 722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention, or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with sucha set of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wave signals.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin example embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Furthermore, the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system, comprising: a processor; amemory device holding an instruction set executable on the processor tocause the computer system to perform operations comprising: generatingan item front surface image that corresponds with a front surface of anitem; generating a first surface reflection image that corresponds witha reflection, captured from a corresponding reflective physical surface,of a first additional surface of the item; and generating a singleoutput image that includes a portion of the front surface image and aportion of the first surface reflection image.
 2. The computer system ofclaim 1, wherein generating a single output image comprises: positioningimage content from the portion of the front surface image in a firstsector of the single output image; positioning image content from theportion of the first surface reflection image in a second sector of thesingle output image, the first sector and the second sector beingexclusive of each other.
 3. The computer system of claim 1, furthercomprising: obtaining at least one reflective surface characteristic ofthe corresponding reflective physical surface; and embedding the atleast one reflective surface characteristic in a header of the singleoutput image.
 4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein obtaining atleast one reflective surface characteristic of the correspondingreflective physical surface comprises: receiving the at least onereflective surface characteristic of the corresponding reflectivephysical surface from a physical kit that includes the correspondingreflective physical surface and a pre-defined placement for the item,the physical kit including a transmitter for transmitting the at leastone reflective surface characteristic.
 5. The computer system of claim3, wherein obtaining at least one reflective surface characteristic ofthe corresponding reflective physical surface comprises: scanning anidentifier from a surface of a physical kit, the physical kit includingthe corresponding reflective physical surface and a pre-definedplacement for the item; transmitting the identifier to a server system;and receiving from the server system the at least one reflective surfacecharacteristic.
 6. The computer system as in claim 3, wherein arespective reflective surface characteristic comprises one of: adescription of a curvature of the corresponding reflective physicalsurface; a distance between the corresponding reflective physicalsurface and the first additional surface of the item; and a measurementof an angle of the corresponding reflective physical surface withrespect to the first additional surface of the item.
 7. The computersystem of claim 1, further comprising: generating metadata indicative ofa sector of the single output image in which the first surfacereflection image is situated; and embedding the metadata in the headerin relation to the at least one reflective surface characteristic.
 8. Acomputer implemented method, comprising: generating an item frontsurface image that corresponds with a front surface of an item;generating a first surface reflection image that corresponds with areflection, captured from a corresponding reflective physical surface,of a first additional surface of the item; and generating a singleoutput image that includes a portion of the front surface image and aportion of the first surface reflection image.
 9. The computerimplemented method of claim 8, wherein generating a single output imagecomprises: positioning image content from the portion of the frontsurface image in a first sector of the single output image; positioningimage content from the portion of the first surface reflection image ina second sector of the single output image, the first sector and thesecond sector being exclusive of each other.
 10. The computerimplemented method of claim 8, further comprising: obtaining at leastone reflective surface characteristic of the corresponding reflectivephysical surface; and embedding the at least one reflective surfacecharacteristic in a header of the single output image.
 11. The computerimplemented method of claim 10, wherein obtaining at least onereflective surface characteristic of the corresponding reflectivephysical surface comprises: receiving the at least one reflectivesurface characteristic of the corresponding reflective physical surfacefrom a physical kit that includes the corresponding reflective physicalsurface and a pre-defined placement for the item, the physical kitincluding a transmitter for transmitting the at least one reflectivesurface characteristic.
 12. The computer implemented method of claim 10,wherein obtaining at least one reflective surface characteristic of thecorresponding reflective physical surface comprises: scanning anidentifier from a surface of a physical kit, the physical kit includingthe corresponding reflective physical surface and a pre-definedplacement for the item; transmitting the identifier to a server system;and receiving from the server system the at least one reflective surfacecharacteristic.
 13. The computer implemented method as in claim 10,wherein a respective reflective surface characteristic comprises one of:a description of a curvature of the corresponding reflective physicalsurface; a distance between the corresponding reflective physicalsurface and the first additional surface of the item; and a measurementof an angle of the corresponding reflective physical surface withrespect to the first additional surface of the item.
 14. The computerimplemented method of claim 8, further comprising: generating metadataindicative of a sector of the single output image in which the firstsurface reflection image is situated; and embedding the metadata in theheader in relation to the least one reflective surface characteristic.15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executableinstructions thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations including: generating an item frontsurface image that corresponds with a front surface of an item;generating a first surface reflection image that corresponds with areflection, captured from a corresponding reflective physical surface,of a first additional surface of the item; and generating a singleoutput image that includes a portion of the front surface image and aportion of the first surface reflection image.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein generating a single outputimage comprises: positioning image content from the portion of the frontsurface image in a first sector of the single output image; positioningimage content from the portion of the first surface reflection image ina second sector of the single output image, the first sector and thesecond sector being exclusive of each other.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising: obtaining atleast one reflective surface characteristic of the correspondingreflective physical surface; and embedding the at least one reflectivesurface characteristic in a header of the single output image.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein obtainingat least one reflective surface characteristic of the correspondingreflective physical surface comprises: receiving the at least onereflective surface characteristic of the corresponding reflectivephysical surface from a physical kit that includes the correspondingreflective physical surface and a pre-defined placement for the item,the physical kit including a transmitter for transmitting the at leastone reflective surface characteristic.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein obtaining at least onereflective surface characteristic of the corresponding reflectivephysical surface comprises: scanning an identifier from a surface of aphysical kit, the physical kit including the corresponding reflectivephysical surface and a pre-defined placement for the item: transmittingthe identifier to a server system; and receiving from the server systemthe at least one reflective surface characteristic.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium as in claim 17, wherein arespective reflective surface characteristic comprises one of: adescription of a curvature of the corresponding reflective physicalsurface; a distance between the corresponding reflective physicalsurface and the first additional surface of the item; and a measurementof an angle of the corresponding reflective physical surface withrespect to the first additional surface of the item.